Why do I get diarrhea when I juice?

Juicing fruits and vegetables into nutrient-dense drinks has become an increasingly popular health trend. While juicing can provide important vitamins and minerals, some people experience digestive issues like diarrhea when they start juicing. There are a few potential reasons why juicing may cause diarrhea.

Fiber Removal

One of the main reasons juicing causes diarrhea is because it removes most of the fiber from fruits and vegetables. Fiber is essential for healthy digestion and helps add bulk to stools. When you juice produce, the juice contains vitamins and minerals from the fruits and veggies, but none of the fiber content. Without adequate fiber, stools can become loose, watery, and lead to diarrhea.

For example, here is a comparison of the fiber content in whole fruits versus fruit juice:

Fruit	Fiber in whole fruit (grams)	Fiber in fruit juice (grams)
Apple	4.4	0.5
Orange	3.1	0.5
Grapes	0.9	0.1

As you can see, juicing significantly reduces the fiber content compared to eating whole fruits. The same is true for vegetables. Without adequate fiber, stools move through the intestines faster and can result in loose stools or diarrhea.

Fructose Malabsorption

Some people have difficulty absorbing excess fructose, a natural sugar found in many fruits and some vegetables. This condition is called fructose malabsorption or fructose intolerance. When fructose isn’t properly absorbed in the small intestine, it continues to the large intestine where it acts as an osmotic agent and pulls water into the colon, leading to diarrhea.

Fruits and vegetables high in fructose include:

• Apples
• Pears
• Mangoes
• Cherries
• Watermelon
• Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Sugar snap peas
• Onions

Juicing concentrates the fructose content of these foods. Someone with fructose malabsorption may experience significant diarrhea and gastrointestinal distress when juicing produces high in fructose.

Digestive Enzyme Deficiency

Digestive enzymes in the small intestine help break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from foods and beverages. People with a deficiency in digestive enzymes like lactase, which digests lactose, or sucrase, which digests sucrose, can get diarrhea when juicing certain produce high in sugars.

For example, someone with lactose intolerance may experience diarrhea from juicing carrots or beets, which have higher levels of sugars. Or someone deficient in sucrase may react to juicing fruits high in sucrose like oranges, apples, or mangoes.

If you experience chronic diarrhea or gastrointestinal distress from juicing, it may be helpful to get tested for enzyme deficiencies like lactose intolerance. You can then avoid juicing produce that contains sugars you have difficulty digesting.

Rapid Sugar Absorption

Juice extracts the fluid and nutrients from produce, leaving the insoluble fiber behind. Without fiber to slow digestion, the natural sugars in the juice can be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. A rapid spike in blood sugar can draw fluid into the intestine through osmosis, resulting in diarrhea in some people.

This is more likely to affect people with diabetes or prediabetes who already have trouble regulating blood sugar levels. The rapid carbohydrate absorption from juicing can overwhelm the body’s ability to produce enough insulin to lower blood glucose. High blood sugar pulls fluid into the colon and digestive issues like diarrhea can result.

Bacterial Contamination

Like any food product, juices can become contaminated with bacteria or other pathogens during handling, preparation, or storage. If juices aren’t pasteurized, they can potentially contain harmful bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, or Listeria if contaminated produce is used.

Symptoms of foodborne illness from contaminated juice can include nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. This is why it’s important to thoroughly wash produce, sanitize juicing equipment, and drink juices shortly after making them. Store-bought juices have generally been pasteurized to kill pathogens.

Too Much Juice in a Short Time

When you first start juicing, it’s common to get overexcited and drink large amounts of vegetable and fruit juices. Consuming 16-24 ounces or more of juice in one sitting can overwhelm the digestive system.

Keep in mind that juicing extracts the nutrients from several pieces of produce and concentrates them into a small amount of liquid. Drinking too much juice at once can cause an abrupt influx of sugars, minerals, vitamins, and other compounds. This can pull water into the intestinal tract and result in loose stools or diarrhea.

It’s best to start with a small amount of juice, such as 4-8 ounces per day. Slowly increase your intake up to 16 ounces daily, splitting it into a few servings throughout the day. This allows your body time to adjust to the juicing regimen.

Cleansing Reactions

Some people report getting diarrhea when they start juicing as part of a “detox” or “cleanse.” This is actually a cleansing reaction that shows your body is eliminating toxins and waste products built up in your colon.

As juice provides vitamins and minerals that improve gut health and stimulate digestion, your intestines start to push out accumulated waste and toxins. This can cause loose stools, cramps, or diarrhea temporarily. Such cleansing reactions usually resolve within a few days as your colon resets.

Probiotic Die-Off

In addition to providing nutrients, fruit and vegetable juices help repopulate the gut with healthy bacteria or probiotics. As beneficial probiotics multiply, they can displace unhealthy bacteria and yeasts like Candida. When large numbers of harmful microbes get killed off, it’s called “die-off.”

As the gut microbiome rebalances, the dead bacteria, yeasts, and other deleterious microorganisms get flushed out in stool. This probiotic die-off can also provoke a temporary cleansing reaction with symptoms like gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea.

FODMAPs

Some fruits and vegetables contain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. They include fructose, lactose, fructans and galactans found naturally in many plant foods.

People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be sensitive to FODMAPs. Juicing fruits and veggies high in FODMAPs like apples, pears, mangoes, cruciferous vegetables, onions and asparagus can aggravate IBS symptoms like abdominal pain, gas, bloating and diarrhea.

If you have IBS, you may need to avoid juicing produce high in FODMAPs and stick to low FODMAP options like grapes, oranges, carrots, bell peppers and spinach.

Sorbitol Intolerance

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol found naturally in some fruits and vegetables. Common sources include apples, pears, plums, peaches and prunes. It’s also used as an artificial sweetener in sugar-free foods and drinks.

People with sorbitol intolerance lack the enzymes needed to properly digest it. Undigested sorbitol passes to the large intestine where it can pull water into the colon by osmosis, resulting in diarrhea.

If you experience diarrhea and digestive upset from juicing fruits high in sorbitol, try avoiding apples and pears or limiting portions. Carrot, beet, spinach and citrus juices are better options.

Too Much Produce Variety

When creating juice recipes, it’s tempting to throw in a wide rainbow of different fruits and vegetables. However, too much produce variety in a single juice can shock your system and cause diarrhea in some cases.

Each fruit and vegetable contains its own unique profile of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals. While juice variety is great for nutrition, combining too many different produce items can overwhelm digestion, especially if your body isn’t accustomed to juicing.

Start with simple recipes using 2-3 ingredients like carrots and apples or celery and kale. Gradually work up to more complex juices as your body adjusts and avoids adverse reactions.

Juice Cleansing

Some people do short-term juice cleanses or fasts lasting from 3-10 days while consuming only fruit and vegetable juices. Eliminating solid foods for multiple days can disrupt digestion and frequently leads to diarrhea.

Even if you are getting sufficient calories from juices, abruptly switching to an all-liquid diet shocks the digestive system. The high amounts of sugars and lack of fiber also increase the risk of loose stools.

It’s best to avoid prolonged juice fasts and cleanses. But if you do attempt one, expect possible gastrointestinal distress like diarrhea as your gut adapts to the liquid diet.

How to Prevent Diarrhea When Juicing

Here are some tips to help prevent or minimize diarrhea and other digestive issues when juicing:

• Gradually increase juice intake from 4-6 ounces to 16 ounces daily
• Spread juice intake throughout the day in 3-4 servings
• Chew each sip thoroughly to mix in air which slows digestion
• Avoid prolonged juice fasts or cleanses
• Drink juices with live probiotic cultures
• Include produce low in FODMAPs and sorbitol
• Limit fresh juice to 50% of produce
• Combine fresh and store-bought juices
• Add fiber-rich ingredients like avocado, nut butters, chia or flax seeds
• Blend juices to include some fiber in texture

Making juices richer and thicker by blending in soft produce or healthy fats can help prevent diarrhea. Starting slowly and gradually increasing juice intake gives your body time to adapt as well.

When to See a Doctor

Occasional loose stools from juicing usually resolve on their own within a few days as your digestion adjusts. However, persistent or severe diarrhea lasting more than 3-4 days requires medical attention.

See your doctor if you experience:

• Diarrhea for more than 3-4 days
• Severe abdominal pain or cramps
• Blood or mucus in stool
• Fever over 101°F (38°C)
• Signs of dehydration like dizziness, headache, excessive thirst, dry mouth, or dark urine

These can indicate a more serious condition requiring treatment. Your doctor can check for infection, food intolerance, IBS, or other underlying disorders provoking chronic diarrhea.

Conclusion

Juicing can sometimes cause diarrhea due to the high sugar content, lack of fiber, and increased produce variety in concentrated form. Removing fiber during juicing reduces stool bulk and allows for rapid sugar absorption. This draws fluid into the colon, resulting in loose or watery stools.

People with fructose intolerance, sorbitol intolerance, or FODMAP sensitivity are most prone to diarrhea and intestinal distress from juicing certain fruits and vegetables. Starting with low fiber and low FODMAP produce in moderation allows your body to adjust.

Diarrhea lasting more than a few days may indicate food intolerance, infection, or another health condition requiring medical evaluation. But in most cases, diarrhea from juicing is temporary and resolves on its own as your digestive system adapts to the increased nutrients and fluids. Slowly ramping up juice varieties and quantities can help minimize adverse reactions.